Misadventures
by Avatardragontrainer
Summary: A series of short stories chronicling Dai, Tigress and Kiro's adventures across China, also features the Next Gen characters. Summaries for each will be at the beginning of each story. Rating varies between K and T
1. Gaining Respect

Gaining respect

First up in this series of short stories, is an idea given to me by Jweaks2016, if you haven't read his stories, then what are you waiting for? Go read one, I'll wait…

With resources spread thin from the increased bandit activity, the Emperor asks Dai to send Kiro and Tigress on a mission to scout a bandit fortress, the mission takes a turn when Tigress is wounded and unable to fight, and Kiro must defend her from the bandits, while trying to deal with the loss of Song.

I don't own Kung Fu Panda

* * *

-Sometime between Gauntlet of Criminals and Tiger vs. Tiger-

Dai sat under the peach tree, trying to meditate, it wasn't working, he could hear Kiro and Tigress in the distance, in the Training Hall arguing loudly about God knows what. He sighed heavily and stood up. Ever since he'd been put in charge of the Jade Palace he'd been dealing with Tigress and Kiro's arguing.

He got up to head to the Hall but was stopped by a goose messenger.

"I have a message for you Master Nakamura, from the Emperor himself," The Goose said holding out a scroll with the imperial seal.

Dai opened it as the Goose flew off and read it.

"Alright, enough arguing, you two. I have a special mission from the Emperor,"

Dai said entering the Training Hall, interrupting Kiro and Tigress's arguing.

"A mission from the Emperor? Someone's moving up in the world," Kiro said

"What kind of mission?" Tigress asked still hold Kiro by the scruff of the neck.

"You can let me go anytime now," He said, and Tigress dropped him to the floor walking over him, stepping on his chest, and going over to Dai.

"A scouting mission," Dai said holding out the scroll. "A village to the North has been overrun with Bandits, but they can't find the hideout. It's your job to scout the Village and find it so the Emperor can send in the Army to wipe them out."

"A scouting mission? That means I get to use my stealth mode!" Kiro said.

"Oh no, no way! I am _not_ working with that _clown_." Tigress said pointing at Kiro.

"Hey!" Kiro protested. "That's not fair!"

"You don't do anything except fool around on missions, you never take it seriously," Tigress said.

"Hey, that's just a part of my charm," Kiro said.

Tigress let out an aggravated groan.

"See? He's constantly cracking jokes, someday one of those jokes is gonna get you or someone else, seriously hurt or even killed," She said.

"Enough, the both of you!" Dai said loudly, silencing both tigers.

"Ya know you used to be fun until you became Grand Master," Kiro said earning him a glare from Dai.

"The two of you are going to work together, scout that village and find their hideout, but _do not_ engage the Bandits," Dai said sternly

"Hey, it's not me who's battle hungry, it's Tigress," Kiro said pointing at the fiery feline.

"When do we leave?" Tigress asked ignoring Kiro's comment.

"You and Tigress will leave later today," Dai added. "And please try and work with together as a team."

"I can work with anyone, it's Tigress…" Kiro said.

"Kiro!" Dai interrupted.

"Yeah, yeah I'm going," Kiro said leaving the training hall as well.

After he had left Dai exhaled sharply.

"What am I gonna do with those two?" He said to himself.

-Later-

"Hey Ti, you ready to go?" Kiro asked walking out onto the courtyard.

"Are you?" Tigress asked back.

"Oh, I'm ready, ready to kick some serious bad guy butt!" Kiro said whirling his staffs around. "These guys'll have no idea what hit them!" he said summoning his rocket cart.

"Alright Ti, get in,"

"Uh uh," Tigress said shaking her head. "This is a scouting mission, which means no rocket cart, _we're walking_ ,"

"What?! Are you kidding?" Kiro asked shocked. "I can't walk that far!"

"We best get going then," Tigress said throwing her pack over her shoulder.

Kiro groaned loudly and picked his own pack up, following Tigress.

-Several hours later-

"She's trying to kill me, I know it," Kiro mumbled to himself as he walked slowly, behind Tigress, about to pass out from exertion from walking non-stop for hours.

"What was that?" Tigress asked.

"Nothing!" Kiro said quickly, catching up to the feline.

Tigress growled and kept walking.

"Wait," Kiro said making Tigress pause.

"What is it this time?" Tigress asked as Kiro stepped in front of her, looking around for something.

"Something's wrong," He said after a minute.

"I don't see anything," Tigress said trying to walk around Kiro, but he threw his arm out in front of her.

"Wait," He said.

"Kiro there's nothing there, it's just an empty path," Tigress said walking around him.

"Tigress wait!" Kiro hissed, but it was too late. Tigress had walked about four yards before Kiro heard a metallic snap followed by a sickening crunch, Tigress yelling, and dropping to her knee.

Almost at the same time, several bandits emerged from the trees.

"Here we go," Kiro said his arms up in a boxing style stance.

"Yeah, you better run!" Kiro yelled after making quick work of their would-be robbers as they took off running.

He hurried over to Tigress, who was holding her lower leg in pain.

"They buried the trap in the dirt, genius!" Kiro said examining the trap.

"Kiro!" Tigress yelled.

"Right sorry," Kiro said prying the bear trap open with his staffs so Tigress could get her leg free.

"How'd you know the trap was there anyway?" Tigress asked

"Dai taught me how to spot them," Kiro said.

"Can you walk?" Kiro asked as Tigress stood awkwardly on one leg.

Tigress tried to take a step but hiss in pain, almost falling if Kiro hadn't caught her first.

"Let go of me, I'm fine," Tigress growled pushing away from Kiro, only to grab onto his shoulder for support.

"I think you need to see a doctor," Kiro said.

"Ya think!" Tigress said. "My leg is broken, because of you!"

"Whoa hey, how is this _my_ fault?" Kiro asked. " _You_ stepped in the trap, not me."

"Just get me to a Hospital," Tigress growled through her teeth leaning against her brother.

"Alright, the village is just down the road, can you walk that far?" Kiro asked.

"I'm fine," Tigress said, taking a few steps, only to grab onto Kiro once more for support.

"Shut up," She growled, standing on one leg as Kiro chuckled.

"Sorry," Kiro said.

The two limped into the Village Kiro mentioned, and Kiro asked where the Hospital was, a shop owner directed them to the Hospital.

"What happened?" The Doctor asked cutting Tigress's pant leg, examining her leg.

"She stepped on a bear trap," Kiro said. "Is she gonna be okay?" He asked concerned.

"She's my girlfriend," Kiro said thinking quickly. "Right sweetie?"

Tigress snarled but nodded.

"We're on a trip to the Jhu Jian hot springs up north," Kiro explained. "For a romantic getaway, right?"

Kiro saw Tigress clench her fist, cracking her knuckles as the Doctor turned away to get some wraps out of a drawer

"Yes," She answered.

"I'm gonna need some more wraps, I'll be right back," The Doctor said.

"What do you think you're doing?" Tigress hissed when the Doctor was gone.

"Just play along," Kiro whispered back. "We don't know who these people are, Dai said this Village was crawling with Bandits, remember?"

"Is there a hotel we can stay at, instead of the hospital?" Kiro asked as the Doctor returned.

"I'd rather keep her at the hospital, but as long as she can put weight on her leg I don't see why not," The Doctor said.

"Thank you," Tigress said standing up, testing her leg, limping out of the room. Kiro quickly followed her. Kiro found a room at a hotel for them to stay at for a day or two.

"Oh no, no way!" Tigress said seeing the double bed.

"Come on Ti, it's all they had available," Kiro said.

"Fine, but I'm taking the bed, _you_ can sleep on the floor," Tigress growled.

"Aw man," Kiro said, not happy about having to sleep on the cold floor.

"Do I at least get a pillow?" He asked and received one to the face from across the room.

"Ya know, it might look a little odd to someone to see a supposed couple not sharing a bed," Kiro pointed out.

"What?" Tigress asked.

"Never mind," Kiro said thinking of Mei-Ling. "Mei Ling probably wouldn't be too happy with me."

Eventually, the two Tigers fell asleep, but Kiro was awoken in the middle of the night by a loud crash from downstairs.

Getting up, he went over to Tigress and tried to wake her.

"Tigress!" He hissed shaking the sleeping Tiger.

"Tigress!" He whispered more urgently shaking her, but she wouldn't wake.

Kiro crept out of the room and paused at the top of the staircase when he heard voices coming downstairs.

"Where is she?" A voice demanded.

"Who?" The Hotel owner asked

"The tigress, where is she?" The voice demanded.

" _Tigress? What did they want with her?"_ Kiro wondered.

Kiro crept down the stairs and saw one of the bandits from when they'd been ambushed on the road.

"I said, where is she?" He asked the Hotel owner. "We tracked her to this Village, we know she's here."

"R…Room nine," The Hotel owner stammered.

"See, was that so hard?" The Bandit said stabbing the Hotel owner.

Kiro turned and ran back to their room.

"Tigress, come on wake up!" He said shaking her. "We gotta go!"

BANG!

Kiro whirled around to see the door open and three bandits standing in the doorway.

"Who are you? What do you want with my girlfriend?" Kiro asked trying to keep his cover.

"You can drop the act, we know exactly you are Masters Tigress and Kiro Takimuro,"

"Okay, so what? I'm still not letting you near my friend," Kiro said defiantly, whipping out his staffs.

"Move aside, boy," The lead Bandit said drawing a sharp looking sword. "All we want is the girl."

"Not gonna happen," Kiro said sparking his staffs.

"So be it, take them both!"

The two other bandits produced blow dart tubes, Kiro's eyes widened, he quickly summoned a shield to block the darts and leaped over it, landing, doing a split kick to each of them, knocking them to the floor.

The lead Bandit growled loudly. "Okay, so you have some talent," The Bandit said

"Please, I'm a Kung Fu _Master_ did you really think faceless goons one and two could take me out?" Kiro said smugly.

"Arrogance will be your undoing," The Bandit leader said brandishing his sword.

-In the interest of time-

Kiro forced the bandit back towards the window and yelled, swinging his staff like a baseball bat, hitting the Bandit in the head, knocking him out through the window to the ground below. He stood there panting heavily, that had been no ordinary Bandit, it had taken everything he had to defeat him.

Tigress groaned and woke up to see Kiro near the window panting heavily, his arm badly cut.

"Kiro? What happened?" She asked.

"You're awake!" Kiro said happily.

"What happened to your arm?" Tigress asked.

"Some Bandits tried to kidnap you while you were sleeping," Kiro said. "One of them was a little more difficult to defeat."

"Where is he?" Tigress asked seeing the two chained up in a corner.

"He fell out the window," Kiro said pointing to the broken window.

"Do you think you can walk again, we really shouldn't stick around," Kiro said.

Tigress sat on the edge of the bed and slowly stood up,

"I think I'll be okay," She said.

"Exactly how many times did he fall out the window?" Tigress asked seeing the crumpled body on the street.

Kiro chuckled at her comment.

"You just made a joke!" He said.

"You hear that everyone, Master Tigress just made a joke!" Kiro said loudly.

"No, I didn't," Tigress said firmly.

"I'm the Master of jokes, I know one when I see it," Kiro said.

"I can be funny," Tigress said.

"Hanging out with Dai is loosening you up, admit it," Kiro said poking Tigress in the chest.

"No," Tigress denied, pushing Kiro's hand away. "I am _not_ going soft."

"Ah, come on," Kiro said walking backward in front of Tigress.

"No," Tigress growled. "Stop fooling around, we still have a mission to finish."

"I don't think that's such a good idea with you being hurt," Kiro said.

"I'm fine," Tigress growled.

"Fine," Kiro sighed, knowing he wouldn't be able to convince Tigress to abandon the mission. "But we need to be more careful, they know you're in the area, and they know you're wounded."

"What do you suggest then?" Tigress asked.

"We disguise ourselves," Kiro said.

"Okay…how?"

"We get new clothes," Kiro said. "And travel under different names."

"And what, are we supposed to do with your white fur?" Tigress asked pointing at Kiro.

"I don't know, it's just soo attention drawing isn't it," Kiro said stroking his arm.

-Later-

"Well, what do you think?" Tigress asked walking out wearing a sleeved yellow tunic, instead of her usual red Qipao.

"Wow," Kiro said, Tigress bared her fangs at him.

"Sorry," He mumbled.

Tigress and Kiro split up and scouted around the village but found nothing.

"I don't think the hideout is in the Village," Kiro said meeting Tigress in the crowded marketplace.

"It's probably on the outskirts of the Village then," Tigress said.

"Tigress, I think those Bandits see us," Kiro whispered quietly. "Don't look."

Tigress looked anyway and saw the three Bandits Kiro was talking about making their way through the crowded market towards the two tigers. But they hadn't seen them yet, Tigress's mind raced, trying to figure what to do, the Bandits would see them any second.

"I got an idea," She whispered, it was absurd, insane, but it would work.

"Whatever it is, I love it," Kiro said. "Just do it quick…"

Kiro was cut off as Tigress planted her lips on Kiro's shutting him up, she held the position until the guards moved on, then broke away from Kiro.

"If you _ever_ tell anyone about that, I'll kill you," She said.

"Wow, that, was something else," Kiro said dazed by Tigress's action.

"Come we still have a job to do," She said.

"Yeah," Kiro said still dazed by Tigress's action.

The two left the village and scouted the area around it.

"So, how have you been doing since you started dating Mei-Ling," Tigress asked eager to break the long silence between them.

"I'm doing great!" Kiro said excitedly, "I think she might just be the one!"

"But, you still miss Song," Tigress added.

"Yeah," Kiro said solemnly.

"Hey, look," Kiro said pointing at an old ruin in the distance. "I'll bet you anything, that's where our bandits are hiding out."

"Are you sure that's such a good idea?" Tigress asked as Kiro sprinted up the pathway.

"Come on whatever these guys are cooking up, I'm sure we can handle it," Kiro said optimistically, climbing up the stone wall.

Perched on top of the wall Kiro and Tigress looked down into the open courtyard and Kiro whistled at the number of Bandits.

"This is not a hideout Ti, that's a fortress," Kiro whispered, looking below them at the mass of Bandits in the courtyard of crumbling old fort. "There's no way we're getting in there." He said turning to climb back down.

"What happened to all that optimism you had a minute ago?" Tigress whispered back.

"I don't know, about 1500 bandits happened," Kiro said once he was back on the ground "There's no way we can fight that."

"And we won't," Tigress said dropping down next to him.

"Our mission was to scout the Village and find where the Bandits are hiding, not start a battle," She said starting to walk away.

"Ya know Tigress, I never saw you as one to run from a fight," Kiro said to Tigress as she walked away. "That army is gonna march into that Village and wipe everyone out, we _have_ to help them!"

"What did you just say?" Tigress asked angrily, rounding on Kiro.

"Um…nothing," Kiro said backing away from the angry tigress.

"No, I heard you, you think I'm running away from this fight," Tigress said. "Well, I'm not, they outnumber us 1500 to _two_ , the best option is to go back to the Valley and get help."

Kiro growled, but he could see Tigress's point.

"Fine," He said.

Kiro and Tigress left the fortress and went back to the Village, to their hotel and got ready to leave the Village.

"I'm sorry," Kiro said as they packed.

"What?" Tigress asked stopping packing.

"I'm sorry, I…"

Kiro was interpreted as something small flew in through the window and started spewing a foul smelling smoke.

"What *cough* is that? *cough*," Tigress who started coughing almost immediately asked.

"I…*cough* don't know *cough* *cough*," Kiro said coughing into his hand.

"We gotta go!" He wheezed, grabbing Tigress, who was still coughing badly, by the arm, leading her out of the room.

They didn't get very far before Tigress collapsed, coughing violently.

"Come on Ti! Get up!" Kiro said coughing himself as he lifted her to her feet.

Kiro led Tigress out of the Hotel, where he set her against a wall, taking large gasps of the clean air.

"Whew, another minute or two in there and we…" He stopped when he saw Tigress not moving, and it didn't even look like she was breathing.

"Ti?" He asked growing worried, as he became very dizzy and slumped over.

Before he passed out, Kiro saw three figures walk up to him and Tigress.

"Take them both," One said. "And maybe we'll finally be able to lure the Dragon Warrior into the open,"

* * *

BOOM! And there we go, part one of this little story, I set myself a 2500 word goal, not only did I reach it, I surpassed it by 530 words Woo!

What do you think? Did I do okay? I didn't do much with Kiro's feelings towards Mei-Ling, cause that'll be in the second part when Ti and Kiro have less to worry about.


	2. Boredom

Boredom

Part two of Gaining Respect is giving me some trouble, so I'm just gonna move on to the another story until that one is ready. I hope you enjoy.

* * *

Suffering from boredom and having no more bad guys to fight, Tigress, Kiro, and Dai join Sato in Japan and get caught up in a conspiracy to assassinate the new Emperor, but as they quickly find out, not everything is as it seems.

* * *

"I'm so bored!" Kiro exclaimed, lying on the Training Hall floor. "I need bad guys to fight."

"It has gotten a bit boring around here lately," Tigress said sitting against the Adversary, picking at her claws

"I kinda like it," Dai added pausing as he was about to throw his kunai across the room at a croc dummy. "It's peaceful."

"It's annoying!" Kiro said standing up just as Dai threw the knife, it barely passed over Kiro's head slicing some of the fur off his skull, making him fall, to Dai and Tigress, it looked like Dai had hit Kiro.

"Kiro!" The both yelled rushing to the tiger lying on the floor.

"Man, that was a close one," Kiro said rubbing the top of his head. "Am I bleeding?" He asked looking at his hand.

"You're fine," Dai said.

"I'm still bored," Kiro said.

"Well, what do you suggest, then?" Dai asked.

"I have no clue," Kiro said. "Oh! We could…"

Kiro was interrupted by the Training Hall Doors opening.

"SATO!" Kiro exclaimed seeing the tiger and rushing forward, tackling him to the ground.

"What's going on bro? I thought you were still in Japan? What are you doing in China?" Kiro asked.

"Shh," Sato hissed. "It's a secret!"

Kiro's face lit up the moment he heard Sato say that.

"Are you on a secret mission for the Emperor?" He asked excitedly, practically bouncing up and down. "Take us with you!" Kiro begged getting down on his knees.

"Things have been kinda slow around here," Dai explained when Sato looked at him.

"I'm not on a mission," Sato told making Kiro's face drop. "The truth is, things have been kinda slow in Japan since Emperor Jow was killed."

"You're welcome," Dai said.

"Did they pick a new Emperor yet?" Kiro asked standing back up.

"They have, that's why I'm here. Being the highest ranking official, they chose your Father, Takashi." Sato said looking at Dai.

"What?" Dai asked. "My Father?"

"Yes, he requests you return to Japan as soon as possible," Sato said.

Behind him, Kiro whistled.

"Wow, first The Dragon Warrior, now the son of The Emperor of Japan!" He said slapping Dai on the back. "You're really moving up in the world buddy!"

"What'd ya think Ti? You wanna go to Japan, see the sights?" Dai asked Tigress. "Besides, you've not met my parents yet, have you?"

"A vacation would be nice," Tigress said smiling slightly.

"That's the spirit!" Sato said.

"Whoo! We're going on a vacation!" Kiro cheered.

"How are are we going to get there?" Tigress asked.

"Well, I arrived by boat," Sato said. "We'll just take the same one back to Japan."

The trio took Kiro's rocket cart to the docks to save a bit of time when they landed Kiro saw the 'boat.'

"Sato, that's not a boat, that's an Imperial Warship," He said in awe of the large vessel.

"I, know, it's all the new Emperor could scare up, in short notice," Sato said walking up the ramp.

"How long will it take us to reach Japan?" Dai asked.

"A couple of days," Sato answered. "Provided we don't run into any Pirates."

"Is that a real danger?" Tigress asked.

"Nothing, the four of us, can't handle," Sato said patting his swords.

They set off a few minutes later, a few hours into the journey Tigress walked up next to Dai who was standing at the stern of the ship, leaning on the railing.

"How long has it been since you've been to Japan?" She asked.

"About twenty years, I have this vague memory of when I was about five or six," Dai said. "I was born in Japan, remember?"

Tigress had in fact forgotten Dai had been born in Japan but lived most of his life in China.

The pair was interrupted by the sound of Kiro throwing up over the side of the ship.

"I hate boats," He said wiping his mouth off making Dai chuckle.

"Next time we'll take the rocket cart, I promise," he said.

After another day of sailing, the coastline of Japan came into view, a couple of hours after that, they docked.

"LAND!" Kiro yelled practically leaping off the ship, onto the dock, kissing the ground.

Dai, Tigress, and Sato calmly walked down the ramp behind him, laughing at Kiro's display.

"Your father is gonna want to see you as soon as possible," Sato said. "Kiro, we're gonna need your rocket cart now."

"Finally, I get to do something useful on this trip," Kiro said whipping out his staffs, summoning his rocket cart, they all piled on, and Kiro pulled the string.

The flight to the capital was short; Kiro landed them just outside the walls per Sato's instructions.

As they walked through the gate, Dai hesitated suddenly unsure.

"What's wrong?" Tigress asked stopping as well.

"Nothing, I'm fine," Dai said shaking off the feeling.

As they walked through the city to the Palace, predictably Kiro got distracted, so Dai had to go back a couple of times and drag him away from whatever he was trying to buy.

Eventually, the four Heroes arrived at the Palace, and Sato led them to the Throne room.

"Well, here we are," Sato said, pushing the large doors to the throne room open.

Dai's father sat on the throne, on each side of him sat his different advisors.

He saw Dai and stood up from the throne.

"Dai?"

"Hi…Dad," Dai said.

"It's great to see you again son," Takashi said walking over to and hugging Dai.

"It's great to see you again too," Dai said.

"I feel ridiculous," Dai said tugging at the silk robes he was wearing.

"You look nice," Tigress said

"This fancy clothing just isn't me," Dai said.

Dai was wearing formal dark blue robes with the golden Imperial crest on the back; Tigress wore a red silk dress with the same pattern on it.

"Come on. We shouldn't keep your father waiting," Tigress said.

"I still feel exposed without my swords or staffs,"

"It'll be okay," Tigress said revealing the small knife strapped to her thigh.

"Alright," Dai said, quickly grabbing his Kunai, tucking it into his belt.

"There you two are," Dai's father said greeting them.

"You two look great," He said looking at the two Tigers.

"But I _feel_ ridiculous Dad," Dai said. "Can't I just roll the sleeves up?"

"It's just for this Banquet, I promise," Dai's father said. "Afterward, you can change back."

"Ladies and Gentlemen, let me introduce my son and Dragon Warrior, Dai Nakamura and his girlfriend, Tigress!" Takashi shouted.

The Banquet was pleasant enough, but being the youngest people there Dai, Kiro, and Tigress all felt a little out of place and would answer the odd question or two directed to them.

A few hours into the Banquet, however, a messenger burst into the hall.

"What is it?" Dai's father asked the panic-stricken messenger.

"It's Zina! She's escaped from the Asylum!" He said.

Dai, Tigress, Kiro, and Sato all stood up at the same time.

"I knew I should have killed her when I had the chance," Dai growled.

"Go," Takashi said, and the four young heroes ran out of the Palace.

"So where exactly is this Asylum that Zina broke out of?" Kiro asked once they were outside.

"There," Sato said pointing at Mt. Fuji in the distance. "The Emperor, the old Emperor used to use it to house political prisoners."

"That explains why no one ever spoke out against him," Kiro said. "They did, and they'd end up in the funny farm."

"Kiro, we're gonna need your rocket cart for this bit," Sato said.

"Wait," Dai said. "Maybe one of us should stay here, in case Zina shows up. What I mean is, isn't this what she's expecting, us to race off to try and stop her?"

"That's a good point," Sato said. "Fine Tigress and I will stay here to guard the Emperor, while you and Kiro try to stop Zina."

"This time, I'm gonna make sure I kill her," Dai growled as Kiro summoned his rocket cart

"Whoa, wait…" Sato said. "You can't just kill her."

"Yeah I can, I'm The Dragon Warrior, I should have killed her last time," Dai said.

"Normally, I'd agree with Dai, but can't there be another way?" Kiro asked.

"If we imprison her, she could just escape again," Dai pointed out. "We can't risk it."

"Dai has a point," Tigress said.

"Alright, fine," Sato conceded. "Capture her if you can, kill her if you can't."

"Deal," Dai said climbing onto Kiro's rocket cart.

The flight to the Asylum was faster than Dai thought it would be, they landed right outside the main doors.

"This place reminds me of Chorh-Gom already," Dai commented looking up at the large doors.

Inside it was indeed built very similar to Chorh-Gom prison back in China.

The Warden came up to the two heroes and bowed deeply to Dai.

"We heard you had a prisoner escape," Dai said. "Zina Takimuro is her name."

"Yes, sir, the guards discovered her cell empty this morning," The Warden said.

"Take us there," Dai ordered.

"Y…yes sir," The Warden said. "Follow me."

"How exactly did she escape?" Kiro asked as they examined her empty cell.

"We don't know," The Warden said.

"Can we to speak to the guard on duty that night?" Dai asked.

"You think she had help from one on the guards?" Kiro asked reading Dai's mind.

"None of my guards would willingly assist an escape," The Warden protested. "They are all loyal."

"Loyalty can be bought and sold quickly as anything else," Dai said.

"None of my guards are traitors!" The Warden yelled.

"We'll be the ones who decide that," Dai said remaining calm.

-After the investigation-

"This stinks to high heaven," Dai said as they left the Asylum. "Someone paid that guard off. I can sense it."

"But who?" Kiro asked.

"Likely someone from the old regime," Dai said scratching his chin. "We'll get back to the Palace and talk to Sato, maybe he knows."

"Wait, your not thinking Sato is responsible, are you?" Kiro asked.

"What? No, of course not," Dai said.

-Back at the Palace-

"You two find anything at the Asylum?" Tigress asked when they landed back at the Palace.

"Only that someone paid off the guards to let Zina escape," Dai said.

"Who would do that?" Sato asked.

"No idea," Dai said. "We were hoping you might know."

"Where do I start?" Sato asked. "Your father's appointment angered _a lot_ of people, all most all of them have the means to break Zina out of prison."

"Oh, that's real helpful, Sato," Kiro said sarcastically "That narrows it down to just about everyone."

"I suggest we remain in the Palace until Zina shows herself," Tigress said.

"Agreed," Dai said.

"Well, this has been fun and all, but I got somewhere to be, we should really do it again sometime," Zina said throwing four throwing stars at Dai.

Dai easily dodged the weapons, but Kiro who was standing behind him wasn't so lucky, all four throwing stars hit him on the chest, the white tiger gasped and fell to the ground.

"HA!" Zina laughed and ran off.

Dai moved to chase after her but was stopped by Tigress grabbing his arm.

"I got her; you two stay with Kiro!" Sato said chasing after the assassin.

Dai kneeled down next to his friend.

"Guess…I shoulda…ducked or some…thin…huh…" Kiro gasped, gritting his teeth in pain.

"Yeah," Dai said. "Just hang on Kiro."

"Not…sure I…have…a choice," Kiro said gasping and coughing.

"Don't try to talk," Tigress said. "Where's Sato?!"

"Screw this!" Dai growled taking Kiro's staffs.

"Hey…what…are you…?" Kiro asked.

Dai summoned a rocket cart and set Kiro on it.

-Skip-

The doors to the throne room crashed open, and an infuriated Dai, Tigress, and Sato stormed into the throne room

"Dai? What are you doing here?" His father asked, and Dai tossed Kiro's bloodied staffs onto the floor in front of the throne.

"My friend is in the Hospital, he could _die,_ because you have a traitor in your ranks, someone told Zina we were coming, and Kiro paid the price!" Dai yelled.

"Whoa, Dai calm down!" Sato said putting a hand on Dai's shoulder "We shouldn't jump to conclusions like that."

"I will not calm down!" Dai said shaking Sato off.

"Sato is right. We should let calmer heads prevail," Takashi stated.

"Fine," Dai growled, leaving the throne room.

Tigress found him on the training grounds a few hours later, taking his frustrations out on a punching bag.

"The punching bag, is not a worthy opponent," she said, this made Dai stop and smile a little.

"No, I suppose not, but Sato wouldn't let me use him as one, so…" Dai joked.

Tigress chuckled a little at Dai's joke.

"How's Kiro?" Dai asked.

"Doctors say He'll live, but he's gonna of out of action for awhile," Tigress said

"That's good," Dai said.

"What are we going to do about Zina?" Tigress asked as Dai resumed hitting the punching bag.

"I have no idea," Dai said truthfully. "I don't think she'll try anything at the Palace again; my Dad is too well protected."

"What does Sato say?"

"Sato disagrees, he says she'll try again," Dai said.

-The Next day-

Takashi was walking the Palace grounds with his son in the early morning, Dai took a deep breath, it had rained heavily last night, he could smell it.

"Why did you run away like you did? Your Mother and I were worried sick," He asked after awhile.

It was a question Dai had been avoiding answering since they'd been reunited in China almost a year ago.

Dai exhaled sharply

"You've heard the stories," Dai said trying to dodge the question.

"Yes, but I want to hear it from you,"

"In truth, I panicked," Dai said, "I'd just killed three Imperial Guards, I didn't know what to do, so I ran,"

"Three? The story mentions only one," Takashi said.

"Yeah well, that wouldn't be the first thing they got wrong, now would it?" Dai said vehemently.

A glint caught Dai's attention, making him stop and turn towards it.

"What is it?" Takashi asked.

"Down!" Dai yelled tackling his father, as a crossbow bolt flew over them.

"Where'd that come from?" Takashi asked.

"Zina," Dai seethed.

"Guards!" Dai shouted, seconds later the grounds were swarming with Palace guards.

"Zina just tried to assassinate my father, protect him," Dai ordered and ran off after the assassin.

" _Crap!"_ Zina thought quickly loading another bolt into her crossbow, firing at Dai, who kicked it aside.

She reloaded and fired another bolt, missing again, jumping down from her hiding spot in the trees she sprinted off, throwing a couple of Kunai at Dai as she went.

Dai dodged the weapons effortlessly and kept chasing after Zina, pulling out his own Kunai, his paused for a second and threw it at the fleeing assassin, he was rewarded with a cry of pain and saw Zina stumble and fall, sliding to a stop on the muddy ground.

Dai smirked and walked up to the wounded Zina and pulled his Kunai out of her back.

"You really thought you could assassinate my father?" He asked prepared to finish her right there.

"I wasn't…tying to kill him…I was trying to lure you…to Japan," Zina gasped.

"What for? Why?" Dai asked grabbing Zina by the head hitting her head against the ground.

"Dai! Stop!"

Dai turned around and saw Tigress and Sato running towards him.

"We don't kill prisoners," Sato said.

"Fine, I have a few questions for her anyway," Dai said lifting Zina off the muddy ground and carried her bridal style.

Zina gasped at the motion, not expecting it.

"What?" Dai asked, seeing the looks he was getting from Tigress and Sato.

Dai carried Zina back to the Palace, to the Hospital, with Tigress and Sato following closely behind him the entire time. As he carried her, Dai could feel the blood on her back, and suddenly felt bad about it.

He quickly shook the thought from his head; she was a ruthless, cold-blooded assassin, nothing more.

Dai took Zina to the hospital and remained there until the doctors were finished with her, even then he refused to leave, standing against the wall, arms folded across his chest, Kunai in hand.

"Listen, you keep this up, people are gonna start talking," Zina finally spoke up after a couple of hours.

Dai only growled in response to her.

"You a prisoner, nothing more," He said coldly.

"So it does speak," Zina said to Dai, looking at the tiger guarding her.

"You could have left me out there in the mud, why didn't you?" Zina asked.

"Why do you care?" Dai asked walking over to her, pointing his Kunai at her.

"Just curious, I guess," Zina said.

"Tigress and Sato didn't seem to think it was a good idea to kill you," Dai said. "I, however, am still on the fence about it."

"How's it going in here?" Tigress asked entering the room.

"Fine," Dai said.

"Has she said anything yet?"

Dai had completely forgotten he was supposed to be questioning Zina.

"No, nothing yet," He said.

"You haven't asked me anything," Zina said.

"Okay, why do you want to kill my father?" Dai asked.

"I already told you, I don't want to, I was only hired to lure to Japan," Zina.

"So who's the target?" Dai asked.

"You are, all four of you," Zina said looking at both tigers.

"Who hired you?" Tigress demanded.

"I'm not the assassin, my job was only to get you here," Zina stated.

Dai's eyes widened.

"Sato! He's in danger!" He realized and fled the hospital.

Dai raced through the Palace looking for Sato, knocking the staff and different officials aside as he ran.

Meanwhile, Sato was leaving from the kitchen and headed for the training hall. On the way, he passed by a lizard he didn't recognize and paused, turning around, he felt a blade pierce his stomach.

Sato gasped in surprise as the knife was withdrawn, clutching his stomach, he fell to his knees.

"Long live Emperor Jow," The Lizard said.

"SATO!" Dai yelled dropping next to the wounded Tiger, putting his hand on Sato's stomach as the Lizard ran off.

"Come on, stay with me, Sato," Dai said as the Tiger coughed up some blood.

"I…think I need…a bandage or…something," Sato gasped, writhing in pain on the floor.

"I need help!" Dai yelled.

"Sorry buddy, this is gonna hurt," Dai said sparking one of his staffs, there wasn't time to wait for help.

"What…are you?"

Dai touched the tip of the staff to Sato's wound, he yelled in pain, Dai held in there for a few seconds, then removed it, the heat from the staff had cauterized the wound.

"Ow…" Sato gasped.

"I told you it'd hurt," Dai chuckled, lifting Sato to his feet, taking him back to the Palace Hospital for proper treatment.

"Zina is innocent!" Dai protested. "The attack on Sato proves that!"

"Never the less, she's still committed crimes, that she must be held accountable for," Takashi said.

"Agreed," Tigress said.

Dai growled and left the throne room.

-Midnight-

Two shadowy cloaked figures snuck out of the Palace. Expertly avoiding the guards. Clearly, the two didn't want to be noticed once at the gate, the larger of the two cloaked figures opened the gate to let the other, a female exit.

"You know, you could get in a lot of trouble for this," She said, pausing.

"I'll worry about that," The Male said. "You take care of yourself, Zina."

* * *

I hope you enjoyed the story, it was kind of a pain to write, being so long. This one will have a second part to it as well, so keep an eye out for that. Here's a small preview.

-Next Time-

"They found out I'm trying to change, they broke into my hotel room, they tried to kill me!" Zina said. "I need a place to stay, please!"

"There's no way we can trust her, not after everything she's done," Tigress said quietly to Dai, but Zina overheard.

"You owe me, Nakamura!" Zina shouted, making Dai pause.

"Dai, what is she talking about?" Tigress asked.

"Nothing," Dai said quickly.


	3. Lost

Lost

While one of the students (Kiera) is borrowing Dega's swords, they are stolen, sending the pair into China's criminal underworld to find them before they can get sold on the black market.

I don't own Kung Fu Panda, Dega, Kiro, and Zina belong to Jweaks2016

* * *

"Hey Dega, can a borrow your Swords for a bit?" Kiera asked one day.

"Sure, I guess what do you need them for?" The Tiger-Lion asked.

"My Dad says it would be a good idea to practice with them, just in case," Kiera said.

"Alright," Dega said handing Kiera the power weapons. "Just don't lose them, okay."

"I won't, I promise," Kiera said taking the weapons from Dega.

-Several hours later-

"Dega," Kiera said urgently, shaking the Tiger-Lion awake.

"Not now mom, I'm sleeping," Dega mumbled, rolling over.

"Dega, wake up! It's important!" Kiera hissed.

"*Yawn* Kiera?"

"Ahh! what are you doing in here,? I'm not decent!" Dega said startled, pulling the blankets around him.

"I…I lost your swords," Kiera whispered. "They were stolen."

"YOU WHAT?!" Dega shouted, sitting up quickly, making Kiera wince.

"Shh, not so loud!" She hissed.

"Fine," Dega said lying back down. "Just let me get dressed first."

Kiera waited patiently outside Dega's room for him to get dressed, then the two quietly left the academy.

"*Sigh*, where exactly were you when the swords were stolen?" Dega asked stifling a yawn, it was way too early to be investigating anything, in his opinion.

"I was outside Mr. Pings when I noticed they were gone," Kiera said.

"Okay," Dega said. "Did you notice anyone acting unusual inside?"

"No, not really," Kiera said.

"Aw man, my Dad's gonna kill me, I just got those," Dega muttered.

"That's nothing, just wait until my Mom gets a hold of us," Kiera said.

"Don't remind me," Dega muttered. "Last time I was late for training, she made me run up and down the old Palace stairs twenty times."

"Where were you before Mr. Ping's?" Dega asked.

"Just on patrol, walking around the Village," Kiera said.

Dega frowned at her, knowing she was leaving something out.

"Kiera…"

"Okay, so I might have been meeting with someone at the Jade Dragon beforehand," Kiera mumbled.

"Whoa, like a date?" Dega asked, "With a boy?"

"Yes, a boy!" Kiera growled. "His name is Jin, he's a tiger."

"I owe Kiba 20 yuan," Dega mumbled under his breath.

"Can we please focus on the task at hand!" Kiera said. "Instead of my social life!"

"I never thought you'd be able to get a date," Dega said. "Looks like you proved me otherwise."

"Argh! Forget it! I'll do this myself!" Kiera said storming off.

"Kiera, wait," Dega said catching up with the tigress. "I'm sorry."

"How exactly are we supposed to find your Swords?" Kiera asked.

"Well, your Dad told me a story of when he and my mom had to pose undercover as a couple once," Kiera suggested.

"Eww!" Dega said shivering at the thought of pretending to Kiera's boyfriend.

"You have a better idea?" Kiera asked.

"Not really, no," Dega said.

"Oh, how about we pretend to be criminals!" Dega said.

"That could work," Kiera said. "But we'll need a decent excuse for disappearing suddenly."

Dega stood there thinking for a moment.

"I got it!" He suddenly said snapping his fingers. "We'll pretend to be going on a journey to the different battlefields our parents fought at."

"That could work, I'll ask my Dad," Kiera said and returned home.

"Oh, Hey Kiera, where have you been?" Dai asked seeing his daughter walk in.

"Dad, Dega and I were talking, we were wondering where exactly was Grandmaster Feg's hideout?" Kiera asked.

"Why the sudden interest?" Dai asked looking up from the scroll he was reading.

"Dega and I, we kinda want to go see it for ourselves," Kiera explained.

"It's hidden away in the Di Kei mountains, why?" Dai said after a moment of thought.

"We thought maybe we could learn something from it," Kiera said.

"Well, alright, just be careful okay?" he said.

"We will, thanks, dad!" Kiera said leaving the house.

-Later that day-

"Are you two sure you're gonna be okay?" Dai asked Kiera and Dega.

"Don't worry, we'll be fine dad," Kiera said as she and Dega left.

"Are you sure this is such a good idea? That part of China is dangerous," Kiro said to Dai as Kiera paused to wave goodbye to them, then turned back.

"They'll be fine," Dai said. "Besides, it's not that dangerous, since we took care off Grandmaster Feng."

"Still…" Kiro said watching the students walking away. "I get the feeling they're…up to something."

After leaving the Valley of Peace, the two stopped to change into the disguises they had picked, after a few minutes, Kiera stepped out from behind the tree, dressed in her black assassins outfit, only her blue eyes were visible.

"What do you think?" She asked Dega, holding her arms out.

"Very intimidating," Dega said truthfully.

"It feels kinda warm, though," Kiera commented pulling the mask off her lower face. "Give me a moment." She said stepping back behind the tree.

She reappeared a moment later having sliced some of fabric off on her stomach, leaving a bit of it exposed to the air.

"Be glad you don't have thick fur," She commented to Dega.

"Yeah, but can you play the part?" Dega asked still leaning against the tree, causing Kiera to throw a Kunai at him, it missed his neck by about an inch but impaled itself in the tree trunk next to him.

Dega pulled the dagger out of the tree and handed it back to Kiera.

"You scare me sometimes, ya know that?" He commented.

Kiera smiled at his comment.

They traveled to the Blackmarket in the Valley first

"Okay the plan is simple," Kiera explained. "We'll check the black market here in the valley first, we'll go in, find your swords and get out as fast as possible, and try not to buy anything."

The two entered the marketplace without being recognized and started looking around, three times Kiera had to stop Dega from buying something.

"Right," Dega said nodding as they walked through the large market, Kiera paused a few times to look at weapons or armor.

"I see you have an eye for blades," The owner of a stall selling knives and daggers said, seeing Kiera eyeing up a dagger.

"They're nice but, I'm looking for something a little more…unique," Kiera said to the merchant, leaning against the table. "A power weapon," She added quietly. "You know anyone who's selling?"

The merchant scratched his chin thoughtfully.

"Power weapons are extremely rare and powerful weapons, I don't know of anyone who's selling one. If you're looking for a weapon for assassinations, though, maybe I could interest you in a poisoned blade,"

"Poisoned?" Kiera asked intrigued.

"The blade is impregnated with a deadly poison, fatal to anyone," The Merchant said picking up a small knife off the table.

"Really?" Kiera asked. "What kind poisons, exactly?"

"All kinds," The Merchant said. "Poisons that sap the victim's strength are popular, fast-acting neurotoxins are also popular, as well as paralytics that can stop a Rhino."

"Cool," Dega said grinning.

"Don't even think about it," Kiera commented as Dega examined a poisoned dagger.

"Aww…," Dega said putting the weapon back on the table.

"Come on," Kiera said walking away from the stall.

As they walked, Kiera dumped into a teenage Snow Leopard.

"Sorry," She said, then paused and turned around.

"Did you just see that?" Kiera asked. "That Snow Leopard looked just like Tai-Lung,"

"Really? Huh, I didn't notice," Dega said

"Oh, Hey, check this out!" Dega said bringing Kiera's attention away from the Snow Leopard, Kiera sighed loudly and turned back to Dega to see him holding a crossbow to his shoulder.

"Ah, your friend as good taste, the glass on top makes killing at a distance much easier, the custom metal bolts fly further and are less affected by the wind," The seller stated.

"This thing is so cool! I can see further into the distance!" Dega said looking through the 'scope' on top of the crossbow.

"We don't have time for this," Kiera said reaching for the weapon.

"No, it's mine, get your own!" Dega pulling back, as he did his finger slipped on the trigger, firing a metal bolt, it grazed Kiera's upper thigh she yelled and fell to the floor grasping the wound as it bled.

"You idiot!" She growled at Dega.

"I'm sorry!" Dega panicked, dropping the crossbow, crouching next to Kiera, Dega touched the wound, making Kiera hissed in pain.

"We better get you to a doctor, or a healer," Dega said.

"Ya think!" Kiera growled.

"Okay, okay!" Dega said carefully lifting Kiera to her feet.

The pair quickly found a healer to mend Kiera's injury. Unfortunately for Dega, this meant he had to stay facing the wall as Kiera undressed.

"I said I was sorry," Dega said turning around.

"FACE THE WALL!" Kiera yelled pointing, and Dega quickly turned back around.

"Sorry," Dega mumbled staring at the wall.

Kiera growled slightly and gripped the sides of the cot as the doctor bandaged her wound with some strips of cloth and some kind of leaf.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Dega asked.

"She'll be fine, she'll have a scar, but your girlfriend will be fine," The Healer said.

"He's not my boyfriend," Kiera said. "He's my idiot cousin."

"Oh, sorry," The Healer said.

"Come on, let's get outta here," Kiera said standing up after re-dressing.

They searched the rest of the marketplace for hours, only to find nothing.

"Come on, this was a dead end, we'll have better luck in a larger city like Ban Shi or Gong-Men," Kiera said as the sun started to set, the stall owners started packing up to leave. "We should try Ban Shi first."

"Next stop, Ban Shi City," Dega said reaching for his swords, only to remember he didn't have them anymore.

"Oh, right," He said. "I guess we're walking then."

-Ban Shi City, two days later-

"Do you have any idea where this marketplace actually is?" Dega asked Kiera as they entered the city.

"No, my Dad has contacts who do, but I don't know who they are, or how to contact them," Kiera said. "We should split up, search the City then meet back up at the Kung Fu headquarters."

-Very early that morning-

"Well, that was a gigantic waste of time," Dega said tiredly, walking up to Kiera who was resting against a wall. "Maybe we should try the seedier parts of the City."

"Where do you think _I've_ been," Kiera said.

"So…did you find anything?" Dega asked.

Kiera pulled a piece of paper out of her top with an address and password written on it.

"Jackpot," Dega said smiling.

"We'll need the password to get in," Kiera said

"Wait…how'd you even get that?" Dega asked as Kiera tucked the paper back into her top.

" _Persuasion_ ," Kiera said.

"But, won't we be recognized, though?" Dega asked.

"Not if we're careful," Kiera said pulling her mask over her face.

"But just in case, we should use cover names," Kiera said.

"Sweet! So we'll be like spies, awsome!" Dega said.

"Not quite, but you get the idea; I'll be June," Kiera said.

"I'll uh, I'll think of something by the time we got there, don't worry," Dega said.

Keira sighed and shook her head. Dega's antics were wearing her patience thin.

"Fine," She said turning her back on Dega, pulling her hood up. "Just don't do anything stupid."

Dega and Kiera decided to wait until the next day to explore the market and got a hotel room.

"Oh no, no way," Dega said seeing the double bed.

"Don't argue, it's all they had on such short notice," Kiera said tiredly, stifling a yawn.

Dega let Kiera take the bed and slept on the floor, Kiera woke him up early the next morning.

"Come on, Dega, wake up we gotta go," She said.

"I don't wanna," Dega whined into his pillow.

Kiera stood back up and scanned the room for something to wake Dega up with, her eye's landed on the closed window shutters. Grinning mischievously, she walked over.

"Dega you really need to wake up," She repeated gently, causing the Tiger-Lion to stir and wake up.

Kiera suddenly threw the shutters open, flooding the room with bright sunlight.

"AHH! My eyes!" Dega yelled throwing his arm up to shield his eyes.

"You're evil!" He said seeing Kiera in the corner holding her stomach and laughing.

Dega growled and threw his pillow at her.

"Great! You're up, let's go," She said.

The two left the hotel a short time later and headed to the location written on the piece of paper Kiera had, a large abandoned warehouse.

"I guess this is it," Kiera said double checking the information.

They walked up to the entrance and were stopped by an enormous Rhino.

"Password?" He asked.

"The Overlord Cometh," Kiera said.

"I'm June, this is…," Kiera paused waiting for Dega to give his name.

Inside, Dega started to panic, he hadn't thought of a cover name yet!

"Um…I'm uh Dega! Yeah, that's it!" Dega said making Kiera face palm.

"Right…," The bouncer said. "Head on in, just don't cause any trouble, or I'll throw you out myself."

"The Overlord Cometh? What a weird password," Dega commented once inside.

"What did you expect their password to be? Password?" Kiera said as they walked.

"Kiera!" Dega hissed.

"Don't use my real name!" Kiera scolded Dega.

"Just, Look," Dega said turning her, pointing.

Kiera followed Dega's gaze to a black tiger, Zina.

"What's she doing here?" Kiera asked.

"Whatever it is, I doubt she's buying perfume," Dega said.

The two watched as Zina walked off in a hurry, she seemed to be going somewhere.

"Maybe, we should follow her," Dega said.

"Oh yeah, let's just follow the deadly Ninja Assassin, great idea Dega," Kiera said sarcastically.

"I know right, brilliant!" Dega said not picking up on Kiera sarcasm.

"Maybe she's looking for the swords too," Kiera mused aloud. "Weapon's like that, the word is bound to travel quickly."

"Why don't we ask her?" Dega asked. "You're supposed to be an assassin, talk to her."

Kiera frowned under her mask at Dega.

"Fine," Kiera said after a few moments and walked off.

"Excuse me, are you Zina Takimuro?" Kiera asked the black tiger assassin.

"Who wants to…" Zina said but stopped midsentence squinting at Kiera "…Wait a minute."

"You're Master Nakamura's daughter, aren't you?" Zina said standing up looking at Kiera's blue eyes through her mask.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Kiera said. "My name is June…"

"Save it, kid," Zina said "I know exactly who you are, the question is? What are you doing here? In a place like this?"

Her cover was blown, what was she supposed to do?

"Relax, kid, I'm not gonna kill you, yet," Zina said. "I'm gonna assume you're here for the power swords."

"How did you know about that?" Kiera asked.

"Word travels fast," Zina said, "Tell Dega, where ever he's hiding, I'm not gonna get in your way, I've got bigger fish to fry, literally."

"And tell your Dad I said Hi." She added with a wink and left.

"Okay, that was weird," Dega said stepping out from behind a pillar, into the open after Zina had left.

"Weird how?" Kiera asked.

"Weird, as in she didn't _murder_ the two of us on the spot!" Dega said.

"You're actually complaining about that?" Kiera asked.

"No, it's just odd, that's all," Dega said.

"Come on, you heard what Zina said, we need to find my Swords before someone else does," Dega said

Dega and Kiera split up and explored the marketplace, looking for Dega's swords.

After a couple hours, they met back in the middle of the market.

"Did you find anything?" Dega asked.

"No, not really," Kiera said. "How about you?"

"Not a thing," Dega said growing worried.

"Maybe someone already bought them," Kiera said.

"Don't say that, I'm worried enough as it is!" Dega said.

"So, on to Gong-Men City then?" Kiera asked.

"Yeah," Dega said glumly not looking forward to the walk.

* * *

-A day earlier-

Dai was in the Academy's training hall with Kiro, they were sparring with their staffs as Tigress and Mei-Ling watched.

"Come on sweetie, kick her butt!" Mei-Ling said

At about the same time a messenger flew into the Training Hall.

"Master Nakamura, you have a message from the Kung Fu Headquarters," The Messenger said handing Dai a letter and flying away.

"The Kung Fu headquarters? What's it about?" Tigress asked, still holding Kiro by the front of the shirt.

"Hey, aren't we supposed to be having a fight here?" Kiro asked, in answer Tigress hit Kiro in the chest with a clawfist, Kiro, was sent flying into the adjacent wall it.

"Okay…You win," He groaned

Dai turned his attention back to the letter and opened it.

* * *

Master Nakamura, this letter is to inform you two of your students have arrived two days ago in Ban Shi City and have begun investigating the black market in the city; They not have been seen or heard from since. The Assassin Zina was also spotted in the city on the same day.

-Regards, Constable Hu

* * *

Dai growled and crumpled up the letter.

"Zina," he growled.

"Zeng!" He yelled.

"Yes, Master?" The Goose replied appearing out of nowhere.

"I need you to take a message to my one of my contacts, Z," Dai said quickly writing down a message on a spare piece of parchment. "You think you can find her?"

"Yes, sir," Zeng said taking the message and flying off.

* * *

-With Dega and Kiera-

Kiera and Dega's trip to Gongmen City was boring and uneventful, much to Dega's disappointment, he had been hoping for some excitement during their trip.

When they finally reached the City it was night, Dega was complaining about being tired.

"I'm tired," He moaned.

"Maybe if you weren't slouching around or goofing off at the Academy all day, you'd have the energy to walk," Kiera said stopping and waiting for Dega.

Dega straightened up and frowned at Kiera.

"You don't have to be soo mean, ya know," He said. "I may be reckless and a goof, but I've always taken my training seriously."

"Let's just keep going," Kiera said.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you," She added a short while later as they walked. "I'm just upset about losing those Swords, what if they end up in the hands of a major criminal? And they go on a greatest hits attack run of China?"

"Kiera, don't worry, nothing like that is going to happen," Dega said.

They kept walking until Gong-Men City Came into view in front of them.

"We made it!" Dega said rushing forward.

"Dega hold on a second!" Kiera said chasing after the Tiger-Lion.

"Halt!" The gate guards yelled leveling their spears at Dega, who slid to a stop.

"Guess, I shoulda said who I was huh?" Dega said.

"I'm Dega Takimuro, son of Kiro Takimuro, this is Kiera Nakamura, daughter of Dai…"

"Nakamura, the former Dragon Warrior," The guard said interrupting Dega. "We know."

"So…can you let us in?" Dega asked impatiently "We're kinda on a tight schedule here."

"Fine, head on inside, but don't cause any trouble," The guard said lowering his weapon.

"Open the gate!" He yelled.

"Wow, your father's name literally opens doors," Dega commented as the gate opened and they walked inside.

"Where are we going to stay, every place is closed for the night?" Dega asked, "Hey, doesn't your Dad have a house in the City?" He asked stifling a yawn.

"Yeah, we haven't used it years, though," Kiera said.

"Perfect," Dega said. "Why don't we stay there?"

"It beats having to pay for a hotel and share a room…again," Dega pointed out.

"Good idea," Kiera agreed, leading Dega through the city to the house.

"Wow," Dega said when they arrived at the large, two-story house in the shadow of the Tower of Sacred Flame

"Yeah," Kiera said opening the door. "Just don't touch anything."

Inside, it was dusty, and this caused Dega to have a sneezing fit.

"You'd think someone would have come in here and dusted," He said wiping his nose.

"My family hasn't used this house in years," Kiera said looking at a picture on a table of her family. "My Dad grew up here, in fact."

-The next Morning-

Kiera woke up at sunrise, got dressed and went over to Dega's door to wake him. Then changed her mind and decided to let him sleep, then left the house to search for the Swords on her own. She found the marketplace with little difficulty and searched around for the Swords for a few hours before stumbling across an auction, among the listed items were Dega's power Swords, and the auction started in less than twenty minutes!

Kiera left the market and raced back to the house.

"Dega, wake up!" She yelled, banging on his door, waking the Tiger-Lion.

"You're worse than your mother!" She heard him say from the other side of the door.

"I found the swords!" Kiera said

A second later Dega's door swung open, revealing the tiger lion in his nothing but his loincloth.

Kiera put her hand up to block her view and looked away.

" _Well, that image is forever burned into my brain,"_ She thought.

"Where are they?" Dega asked desperately.

"They're going up for auction, today in…ten minutes!" Keira said urgently, doing the math.

Dega disappeared into his room and reappeared fully dressed.

"What are we waiting for?! Let's go!" He said.

"Why can't I get you this excited about training?" Kiera asked following Dega as he ran down the hallway.

"Training is boring, that's why," Dega said back, letting Kiera take the lead since she knew the way.

The two raced across town, back to the warehouse as fast as they could, knocking several people over in the process. They reached the warehouse but were stopped by the Rhino guard.

"We don't have time for this," Kiera said growling, launching herself at the large Rhino, kicking him in the head with both feet, knocking him to the ground with a loud thud.

They went passed the Rhino and headed inside racing to the auction block.

"We're too late," Dega said as the words were taken from the auction block. "What do we do now?" He asked panic in his voice, turning to Kiera.

"We steal them back," Kiera said dead serious, pulling her mask on.

Dega started laughing, then stopped suddenly. "Wait, you're serious, aren't you?" He said, and Kiera nodded.

"And I thought Kai was the impulsive one," Dega said.

"Hey! You two!" Dega and Kiera turned around and saw Zina standing behind them. "Before you do something incredibly stupid…"

"We're not listening to you, assassin!" Dega said.

Zina rolled her eyes. "Can you shut up for just a moment," She said and pulled out the Swords from behind her back.

"Wait… _you_ bought them?" Kiera questioned. "Why?"

"Just take them before I change my mind," Zina said holding out the Swords to Dega.

"And tell your father he owes me another favor…and a very large sum of money… _again_ ," Zina said to Kiera

"Thank you," Kiera said.

"Don't mention it, kid," Zina said offhandedly. "Ya know, you two could have saved yourselves a lot of trouble by just hiring me to steal the Swords when we met in Ban-Shi in the first place."

"You'd do that?" Kiera asked. "Why?"

Zina remained silent before saying

"You better get outta here, before your parents discover you're here," Zina said and ran off, disappearing into the crowd like a ghost.

Taking the Swords, Dega and Kiera returned to the Valley, via Dega's rocket cart and landed just outside the Academy doors.

"That wasn't so bad," Dega said. "And the Masters won't have a clue as to where we really went."

"Dega, Kiera, inside…NOW!" Tigress yelled from behind them, pointing.

"Yes, Master," Both students said.

"You and your big mouth!" Kiera hissed as they followed Master Tigress inside.

* * *

-Epilogue-

Zina wandered into a bar, located at the edge of the Valley and scanned the patrons, spotting the person she was looking for at the bar, she walked over.

"Funny seeing you here, Shadow Tiger," She said.

"Hello, Zina," He said back. "Please don't call me that, you know my name, you might as well use it."

"Do you have my payment, Nakamura?" Zina said.

"Right here," He said holding out a small sack of money.

"You're lucky I was able to find those two before anyone else did," Zina said taking the money. "What were you thinking sending Dega and Kiera into that place?"

"It wasn't my choice," He said turning to face Zina. "They left on their own."

"You still owe me for the Swords," Zina reminded him.

"Don't worry about it, you'll get your money," He said. "I heard a caravan is gonna be transporting some _very_ valuable jewels, and they just so happened to need some extra security; And it just so happens, I know who's on the security detail."

Zina smirked.

"Who?" She asked.

It was his turn to smirk.

"The Caravan will be guarded by one other than our very own next-gen warriors," He said. "It'll be their first solo mission."

* * *

Uh oh, what's Zina up to now? Who's this Z person Dai has been corresponding with? And who is Zina talking to in the bar? So many questions…


End file.
